Adoption news

Brave, the first decentralized browser based on blockchain technology that lets users earn tokens (BAT) as they browse, said they went from 8.7 million monthly active users in October to 10.4 million MAU at the end of November, a 19% increase across all platforms. This represents a doubling of Brave’s MAU in one year. Daily active users tripled in the last 12 months, to 3.3 million.

Russia is set to create a USD 314 million investment fund for industry 4.0 initiatives – including blockchain technology – reports LetKnowNews. The media outlet states that the funds will be managed by Rusnano, a government-owned IT and financial services investment company. The investment will be used “to commercialize and scale up” promising projects.

Spain’s biggest shopping mall and department store, El Corte Inglés, is set to use a blockchain-powered solution to trace its renewable energy usage. Per the EDP Group, a renewable energy provider that says it has partnered with El Corte Inglés, the parties will help ensure that power from EDP wind farms reaches an El Corte Inglés outlet in the capital Madrid, as well as stores in Malaga and Seville.

The operators of a South Korean public-private blockchain-powered ID project that comprises mega-companies like Samsung and LG, as well as government ministries, have briefed 150 companies and government agencies on their plans. According to Yonhap, the operators say they will launch an app in 2020 that will initially be compatible with 70 different forms of certification, including university degree certificates and banking information, with more to follow.

The Venezuelan government is set to issue physical cryptocurrency debit or credit cards for Petro purchases. Per a tweet from an official government account, President Nicolás Maduro stated that the new “special electronic card” will be called the Patria Card, and described it as “an instrument that will support people through the Petro.” The Petro is the country’s state-issued, oil-backed cryptocurrency.

M&A news

Securitize, a security token platform, said it has acquired Japan’s leading consulting and development firm specializing in blockchain technology, BUIDL, to accelerate its expansion and presence in the region. Established in late 2018, BUIDL supports several security token projects across Japan, having consistently grown its revenues and commanded a large market share since inception, the company said in an emailed press release. As reported, in November, Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings invested in Securitize.

Exchanges news

While trading on Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX) was initially launched for selected users in September, the trading venue is now open to all investors based in Germany, the company said in an emailed statement. On the country’s first regulated trading venue for digital assets, users can trade the Bitcoin-Euro pair, with further digital assets to be made available.

Blockchain Ukraine, a major Ukrainian blockchain, fintech and cryptocurrency group that has been working with the government on blockchain policy, has signed an MOU deal with cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, per a Facebook post from the association’s chief Natalia Drik. The association did not reveal any of the details of the deal, but has been working on a number of proposed pieces of legislation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, which earlier this week struck a cooperation deal with Belarus-based crypto exchange Currency.com. The ministry also signed a similar deal with Binance in November.

In collaboration with their newest EUR funding partner, Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick, Kraken has added their newest fiat asset, the Swiss franc (CHF). This is the sixth fiat currency that Kraken will trade, joining USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, and JPY.